Understanding the Sales Force

OCTOBER 30, 2023

Team Photo of the American League Champion 1967 Boston Red Sox I frequently write about taking a consultative approach, where listening and asking questions are the keys for successful sales presentations. The post Two Keys for Successful Sales Presentations appeared first on Kurlan & Associates, Inc. Who cares other than me?

Sales 358

Sales Follow-up Groups Prospecting 358

No More Cold Calling

JUNE 25, 2020

Are you looking for your B2B sales leads in all the wrong places? Is your sales team searching too many faces, looking for traces of prospects, instead of narrowing the search to recruit only your ideal clients? There’s a better way, but it takes guts and conviction from every sales leader. Your conversation shifts.

Lead Generation 409

Lead Generation B2B Lead Rank Lead Scoring 409

Understanding the Sales Force

FEBRUARY 2, 2023

A sales consultant who knows that I geek out on sales data read that 84% of salespeople suck because they don't enjoy what they do. A huge percentage of salespeople do actually suck but the actual number is closer to 75%. Is it really because they don't enjoy selling? million salespeople.

Data 316

Data Google Up-Sell Groups 316

Understanding the Sales Force

JUNE 27, 2023

Even though this article begins as a baseball article, in the fourth paragraph it quickly morphs into a sales article. Compare that with salespeople who, after five years in sales, could be referred to as veterans. I started coaching him when he was old enough to hold a wiffle bat.

Hiring 307

Hiring Coaching Sales Consultative Selling 307

Understanding the Sales Force

OCTOBER 9, 2024

Most sales teams win fewer than half their “games,” and while defense can’t be blamed, pitching can! Unlike the Red Sox, most sales teams have too much pitching (demos and presentations)! As of this writing, they have assessed 106 sales and sales management candidates.

Hiring 358

Hiring Lead Rank Lead Scoring Compensation 358

Steven Rosen

JUNE 3, 2020

Unleash the 10X Factor to Close the Sales Gap. Do you want to close the sales gap? Now is the time to get sales on track. Even though we are still social distancing and face to face selling may not resume until 2021, you are still responsible for sales results. Sales managers are the key to driving sales performance.

Sales Leadership 394

Sales Leadership Closing Face-to-face Call-back 394

No More Cold Calling

JANUARY 16, 2020

Here are five important steps to make your team referral sales experts. If salespeople were self-motivated, they wouldn’t need sales managers or metrics. That’s why we need sales managers. Actually, what we need is strong sales leadership. Sales managers do what they ask others to do. I’m including myself here.

Referrals 328

Referrals Sales Management Hiring Scale 328

No More Cold Calling

JULY 25, 2024

Rusty sales skills won’t win the gold. It’s the same for your sales team. If you want this to be a game-changing year, it’s up to the CRO to make skills-building and practice a requirement, an integral part of your culture, and a major component of your sales strategy. What sales lessons can we learn from them?

Referrals 334

Referrals Cold Calling Coaching Incentive 334

Steven Rosen

OCTOBER 8, 2021

How to Motivate Your Sales Team. Sales leaders agree that a highly motivated and engaged sales force drives greater performance. Many sales managers ask me how to ensure that they have a highly motivated and engaged team, and I usually ask them “WHY”? What do sales managers do to motivate the sales force?

Motivation 379

Motivation Commission Incentive Incentives 379

No More Cold Calling

MAY 17, 2019

That comment was from a 20-year sales veteran, the kind of seasoned pro who should know how to get referrals, and given this person’s track record, should feel confident about asking. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in sales. What if the person says no and refuses to refer us? I wasn’t surprised. It’s what I always hear.

Referrals 327

Referrals Scale How To Cold Calling 327

Anthony Cole Training

JULY 28, 2022

Selling is a different animal and you will often hear the term “soft skills” in reference to training a salesperson. What are soft skills in sales? It would be great if you could hand a new salesperson a manual, ask them to read it, take a knowledge test and they could successfully begin their job.

Examples 254

Examples Sales Training Selling Skills 254

No More Cold Calling

APRIL 15, 2021

Every sales leader says their #1 prospecting challenge is getting leads in the pipe. Considering half of the deals that are forecasted to close don’t, and customer retention has decreased as seller attrition increases, sales teams are facing yet another frustrating year if something doesn’t change. Try this instead. That’s a fact.

Lead Gen 397

Lead Gen Sales Qualified Lead Leads Marketing Qualified Lead 397

No More Cold Calling

OCTOBER 24, 2024

If your focus is on winning as much business as possible before year-end, you’ll be starting 2025 in a losing position—with a lackluster pipeline and few new sales opportunities for the New Year. One more reference to check: You’ve coordinated with the client who is giving the reference and ensured the conversation has happened.

Opportunity 177

Opportunity Referrals How To Pipeline 177

No More Cold Calling

APRIL 26, 2021

I wrote that in 2013, back when virtual sales meetings weren’t the only option. We’ve had to make do with virtual sales meetings, and that has affected many B2B sales pros’ ability to access new customers and to make real-world connections. The Problem with Virtual Sales Meetings. Virtual Sales Meetings Are Here to Stay.

Sales Meeting 287

Sales Meeting Meeting Referrals Face-to-face 287

No More Cold Calling

JANUARY 27, 2022

The research is clear: Diversity drives sales. Diverse sales teams can make more meaningful connections with your increasingly diverse customer base. Research on the benefits of diversity in the workplace prove it isn’t just a nice-to-have; for modern sales teams, it’s a must-have. 12% higher sales attainment.

Research 257

Research Benefit Hiring Demographics 257

Sales and Marketing Management

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

Author: Leeatt Rothschild Virtual sales meetings have become the norm as a result of COVID-19. However, many sales reps may find themselves unsure of how to best lead a meeting with prospects over video. Here are four actionable tips to help you lead more successful virtual sales meetings and ultimately earn more new business.

Sales Meeting 317

Sales Meeting Meeting Nonprofit Face-to-face 317

Steven Rosen

APRIL 6, 2020

Sales Leadership Roundtable Discussion. I had 8 senior sales executives join me for an open discussion. There is no playbook we can refer too, most of us are making it up as we go along. Sales Leaders Share: How we’re keeping our team productive: How do you manage anxiety? What do you prioritize? What do you do?

Face-to-face 359

Face-to-face Motivation Groups Training 359

The Pipeline

FEBRUARY 4, 2020

Last week I saw a piece on LinkedIn, that questioned the accuracy of predictions about the future of B2B sales and selling made in the past decade. The piece pointed to a prediction by Forrester around 2015 about the size and nature of B2B sales in 2020. Is sales is making the most of their newfound time and resources?”

Revenue 370

Revenue Top of Funnel Sales Qualified Lead Lead Rank 370

No More Cold Calling

DECEMBER 7, 2018

When I interviewed Wes, senior vice president of sales for a well-known marketing automation company, I expected to hear all about the advantages of using his technology. Instead, he talked about the power of relationships for sales. When a trusted resource refers you to someone, you take the time to explore the option.”.

Referrals 310

Referrals How To Cold Calling Lead Generation 310

No More Cold Calling

APRIL 16, 2020

Face Facts: The Client Is Not Always Right, and Your Sales Pitch Is Annoying. They hear the word sales and think of the stereotypical used-car salesman. If they can’t help, they’ll refer someone who can. Salespeople that earn trust in the time of COVID won’t have to worry about losing their jobs during an economic downturn.

Face-to-face 434

Face-to-face Call-back Cold Calling Webinar Metrics 434

No More Cold Calling

AUGUST 1, 2019

When I refer you, I put my reputation on the line, so I need to trust that you’ll take care of my connection as I would. I refer you to someone I know well. They know I won’t waste their time, and they’ll gain insights from anyone I refer. So, when I refer you, this person’s trust in me gets transferred to you.

Referrals 289

Referrals System Cold Calling Social Media 289

No More Cold Calling

JUNE 23, 2019

Sales leaders acknowledge that referrals are their fastest revenue driver and solve their two biggest issues: getting qualified leads in the pipe and scoring meetings with decision-makers. While all salespeople love to receive referrals, most are uncomfortable asking for them, and many sales leaders don’t believe referrals can scale.

Referrals 297

Referrals Scale How To Lead Rank 297

Steven Rosen

APRIL 13, 2020

Sales Leadership Roundtable – Part II. This is the second post from the sales leadership roundtable. There is no playbook we can refer too, most of us are making it up as we go along. What a great group I had on the sales leadership roundtable. Click here to read part one. How are We Communicating With Our .

Sales Leadership 298

Sales Leadership How To Journal Conference 298

No More Cold Calling

NOVEMBER 22, 2024

Those were people referred to him by someone they trusted. And focus on the key sales activities that get you in front of those qualified prospects. No matter how many times he called—six to 10 attempts, easily—he couldn’t reach anyone. The cold calling was becoming a grind, and he dreaded picking up the phone.

Sales Qualified Lead 313

Sales Qualified Lead Prospecting Cold Calling Referrals 313

Sales 2.0

JULY 8, 2022

Meanwhile most high tech companies accept this level of productivity in their sales departments. It can be a critical step in filling your sales pipeline with great opportunities. Sometimes that need is something your product can address and hence a sales opportunity is created. Do you know how you help?

Prospecting 370

Prospecting Outsourcing Services Cold Calling Hiring 370

No More Cold Calling

MAY 2, 2019

Hiding behind technology doesn’t drive sales—THIS WILL. The Sales Leadership Gap for Small Biz. But very few came from sales. In fact, they think sales is a four-letter word. The Sales Avoidance Phenomenon. These are all important considerations for a small business, but without sales, there is no business.

Small Business 316

Small Business Small Business Referrals Hiring 316

Anthony Cole Training

FEBRUARY 23, 2024

One of the most important skills that a salesperson needs to possess is the ability to engage in what I refer to as “appropriate and respectful confrontation” with a prospect…at least when the need arises. For the sake of simplicity, let’s just refer to that as the ability to push back.

Prospecting 227

Prospecting Motivation Training Sales 227

No More Cold Calling

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

Why the sudden interest in referral sales? But they’ll always speak with a person who’s been referred by a trusted colleague. Sales leaders have an ongoing challenge to get more qualified leads in the pipe, but seller access has evaporated. You can ask: During the sales process when you’ve added value. There it is.

Referrals 323

Referrals Sales Qualified Lead Marketing Qualified Lead Lead Generation 323

Sales and Marketing Management

JULY 7, 2020

With stay-at-home mandates causing what many reference as the “groundhog day” effect, your sales team is the perfect audience for incorporating surprise rewards as part of a sales incentive program to keep remote teams engaged and company morale high. How to start applying this to your sales team.

Incentive 394

Incentive Incentives Motivation ACT 394

No More Cold Calling

JUNE 10, 2021

I would work with small companies to develop their sales strategy, sales process, and sales goals, and incorporate these into their business plan. Fifty of the company’s best clients said they’d be glad to refer them! I asked salespeople and sales leaders I knew if they liked to get referral introductions.

Referrals 385

Referrals Cold Calling Webinar Metrics Inbound 385

No More Cold Calling

APRIL 9, 2020

You’re the ultimate sales technology—and this is the ultimate sales conversations book. If there ever was a time for real, authentic sales conversations, it’s now. Do you know how to have that kind of sales conversations? Reps told me they didn’t need to have sales conversations. The phone works. INTRODUCTION.

Conversion 305

Conversion Face-to-face Social Media Referrals 305

The Pipeline

OCTOBER 1, 2019

I have often said that the schoolyard taunt “ sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me ,” doesn’t hold up in sales. We don’t want that, so to help, here are four four-letter words to banish from your sales vocabulary. Words can kill you, your pipeline, and career. Just A Sec. Stop doing this s**t to yourself.

Objections 291

Objections Sports Up-Sell Buyer 291

Anthony Cole Training

JANUARY 5, 2024

But the ‘ATMs’ I’m referring to have been around, well a long, long, long time. Bank ATMs (Automatic Teller Machines) have been around for a while.According to Investopedia, Barclays Bank of London in 1967 was the first to have an ATM in use. I remember using my first ATM – Jeanie Machine – in Cincinnati in 1979.

Banking 248

Banking Sales Coaching Motivation Training 248

No More Cold Calling

MAY 21, 2020

His so-called referral program couldn’t be measured and didn’t hold sales reps accountable for results. Most sales organizations don’t have an outbound referral program that zeroes in on their most neglected revenue channel—existing clients. You recognize you must take action now to fill your sales pipeline with qualified leads.

Referrals 331

Referrals Outbound Lead Gen Sales Qualified Lead 331

Understanding the Sales Force

NOVEMBER 10, 2023

And “We don’t know what we don’t know about sales” is a true statement in most companies. As a result, they can’t anticipate when in a sales cycle or sales process they will be impacted, and don’t have the awareness to take steps to work around it and improve.

Company 227

Company Hiring Scale Forecasting 227

Zoominfo

NOVEMBER 9, 2020

Does your (sales) funnel have flow? Learn data-driven strategies that support each stage of the sales funnel, along with key performance indicators (KPIs). Contents What is a Sales Funnel? What Tools Do People Use for Sales Funnels? Marketing Funnel vs. Sales Funnel Resources. What is a Sales Funnel?

Top of Funnel 246

Top of Funnel Funnel Sales Qualified Lead Data 246

No More Cold Calling

JUNE 27, 2019

Otherwise, if they’re in a sales-related field, I’ll often accept. Well enough you’d feel confident referring them? In other words, even if you have a thousand LinkedIn contacts, you only have 150 true connections—the kind that drive sales and generate referrals. I’m in-between. I view every invitation. I never pitch.

LinkedIn 307

LinkedIn Social Media Networking Cold Calling 307